Refining the Workplace PERMA-Profiler in a sample of early childhood education and care professionals in Norway

Abstract Accurately measuring the well-being of Early Childhood Education and Care professionals is essential for ensuring high-quality childcare. The Workplace PERMA-Profiler, which assesses five interrelated dimensions—Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment—provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating well-being. This study (a) evaluates the psychometric properties of the Workplace PERMA-Profiler in Norway and (b) investigates whether incorporating revised Engagement items can improve its measurement properties, addressing challenges identified in prior research. Pre-intervention data ( N = 272) from a randomized control trial were used to assess the original translated Profiler, while post-intervention data ( N = 155) allowed for an evaluation of both the original and a revised version with three revised Engagement items. Our findings confirmed that the five-factor model is the most appropriate structure for measuring workplace well-being in Norway. However, consistent with earlier studies, pre-intervention data showed high latent correlations between Engagement and Meaning, indicating significant overlap between these dimensions. Our revised Engagement items significantly reduced these correlations in post-intervention data, making the two factors more distinguishable. The revised Engagement subscale also demonstrated excellent reliability (Coefficient Omega = 0.84), a notable improvement over the original version. Based on these findings, we recommend adopting the revised Engagement subscale in future studies. Finally, expected convergent relationships were found with work engagement, satisfaction with work environment, optimism, burnout, and depression, while divergent relationships were observed with stress and anxiety. This study contributes to the literature by offering a refined version of the Workplace PERMA-Profiler, addressing previously identified measurement challenges.